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How Studio 54, Donald Trump and erotic egg play inspired this crazy campaign from Oliver Voss Werbeagentur and Czar

What are the Greek Gods getting up to now that
it’s the 21st century? Partying hard suggests this brilliantly over-the-top,
absolutely bonkers ALDI spot by German agency Oliver Voss Werbeagentur and Czar
director Andreas Nilsson. Unfortunately, Zeus, Medusa, the Cyclops and co have
their party plans interrupted. Turns out their chocolate chickens and doughnut
baths are drifting over budget. ALDI saves the day.

LBB’s Addison Capper chatted with director
Andreas to find out more about the film – and how Donald Trump and mild egg
porn played a role in its creation…

LBB> What were your
thoughts when this job first came in?

AN> This is bonkers and I
have to do it. Simple.

LBB> There are a lot of
styles going on! A bit of glam rock, classic, a touch of the Harry Hamlin
films. How was it for you as the director to make them all collide? How did you
ensure there was that ‘collision’ but without it being too messy?

AN> I wanted to make sure
it felt like Olympus 2.0, the way I imagine the Greek Gods look like today. The
decadence of Studio 54 led by a crazy sexual white Rick James mixed with the
traditional mythology. A bonkers world of gluttony. With that vision for it I
never really worried about it being too messy.

LBB> There’s something
really intriguing about the grade, but we in the office can’t put our fingers
on it. What were your aims with that? Who was the colourist and what kind of
conversations were you having with him/her?

AN> It was done by the
colour-wizard Hannibal at Bacon X in Copenhagen and we wanted it to have a
technicolor feel and for the colours to communicate excess. We wanted the
grade to be something Donald Trump would look at and say, ”I like it, but can I
have some more gold please?”. Thomas Hardmeier was the DP and he did a great
job making life easier in post.

LBB> Let’s be honest, it’s
a pretty far out, bonkers piece of film - in a totally good way! How was the
client? I guess today it takes some balls to roll with something like this.

AN> It’s rare with clients
that dare to take risks like this so hats off to Aldi and Oliver Voss. I felt
there was a big trust and willingness to make something that stood out and that
is a sign of a good relationship between agency and client. They have worked up
a good flow that allows projects like these to take shape. I’m excited to see what’s
next for this client.

LBB> I love each of the
scenarios… the spaghetti being eaten in a bath of doughnuts, the huge piece of
meat doused in chocolate, the skeletons. How did you decide which Gods and
monsters to feature? And then what inspired each of their party attire,
personality and character design?

AN> Thanks. I love working
in Bucharest, they have really skilled builders and they know how to make it
the old school way. A key figure when creating this was obviously Dave Lee who
is the production designer. Since we were blending classic mythology with some
unexpected elements it was important to try and use the characters that had an
immediate visual read and are recognisable to the audience as characters from Greek
Mythology. Like Medusa, Cyclops, the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts.

LBB> I LOVE Zeus. What a
guy. Who plays him and what kinds of conversations were you having with him?
What inspired such a wacky version of the Greek God?

AN> He’s an English actor
called Colin Michael Carmichael. In the call backs he told me he was hung like
a shire horse which inspired the costume designer Selina Wong to design
something that would really take advantage of his gift. Colin is a great
improviser with fantastic timing. An actor that constantly gives you
variations. Actors like that make my job very easy.

LBB> The music is awesome
too - a bit of digging has led me to learn that it’s considered the first ever
Detroit techno track. That bit of geekery made me like it even more. How
involved were you in that? How did you land on the tune and why was it right
for the film?

AN> Sharevari is
considered the first techno track and is one of my all-time favourites. It has
some lyrical themes that worked really well with the story plus it had that Studio
54 tone the spot needed so I decided on that track in advance and we played it
when shooting. It kind of grew into the project, so when the edit process
started it was already a big part of the tone of the spot and we just kept
moving in that direction.

Don't tell my mother I'm in advertising, she thinks I play piano in a whorehouse.

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